Former New Brunswick school official charged with stealing $12K from exam fees

NEW BRUNSWICK — A former vice principal at the New Brunswick adult school was arrested today and charged with stealing at least $12,000 in fees for GED exams.

Patricia Ruggeri, 35, was charged with one count of theft for stealing the funds between April 2011 and last July, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said in a statement issued jointly with New Brunswick Police Director Anthony Caputo.

Kaplan said the investigation began after Ruggeri took a leave of absence from the adult school and then resigned in September.

No students were denied adult school services as a result of the theft, the prosecutor said.

Ruggeri, of East Brunswick, was arrested at the Leap Charter Academy in Camden.

Brian Dickerson, a spokesman for Leap Charter Academy, said Ruggeri is not employed by the school.

Bail for Ruggeri was set at $15,000.

Authorities ask that anybody with information about Ruggeri and the case call Investigator Lisa Collins of the Prosecutor's Office at (732) 745-3473.